Getting Acquainted With “Doctor Who” – Five Iconic Fourth Doctor Stories

To prepare for Doctor Who’s arrival on Disney+ in 2023, and as Laughing Place’s resident Doctor Who expert, I wanted to do a series of articles to get Disney fans acquainted with the world of the traveling Time Lord. We’ve now made it up to the longest running, and perhaps most famous of all the Doctors, the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker. The eccentric Baker led Doctor Who through perhaps its most popular period of all, at least during the classic era, with his trademark scarf and jelly babies.

But who is the Doctor, you might ask? Well he’s a traveling Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. The line that best sums up the Doctor, no matter his portrayal is “Never cruel, never cowardly.”

In these articles, I will introduce you to what I think are the five stories from each Doctor that best represent that era, and also serve to move the show’s mythos forward. This time, the Doctor’s exile to Earth is over, and a far more eccentric Doctor is ready to explore the vastness of the universe…

The Ark in Space

Tom Baker’s first serial as the Doctor, “Robot,” very much felt like a story left over from the previous area, a now typical UNIT adventure. It wasn’t until his second serial, “The Ark in Space,” where the new vision for the show really started to shine. The new producing team of Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes wanted to make the show scarier, more gothic, and “The Ark in Space” is an early example of their vision.

Playing as an outer space version of Noah’s Ark, even including a character named Noah, the Doctor, Sarah, and new companion Harry arrive on Space Station Nerva in the distant future. Here they come across the crew, stored aboard in suspended animation. It’s during this sequence that we get one of the Doctor’s most memorable species, where he remarks on the indomitability of humans. One by one, the crew starts to revive, but they are not alone on Nerva…

Sometimes poor effects can really date an episode of Doctor Who, such as the “bubble wrap” monsters seen in this story. However, it is just as often the case, especially during this era of the show, where the stellar writing shines through. Written by Robert Holmes, who would continue on to write some of the most popular stories of the Fourth Doctor’s run, “The Ark in Space” is an excellent showcase of this strange and exciting new Doctor.

Genesis of the Daleks

The Daleks had been an essential part of Doctor Who since the second-ever serial in 1963. While these menacing pepper-pots graced our screens a number of times the show’s first decade, we never knew exactly where they came from. That was, until 1975’s “Genesis of the Daleks.” Written by the original creator of the Daleks, Terry Nation, this is one of the most ambitious, and most-beloved serials of the classic series, and for good reason!

Sent on a mission by the Time Lords to avert the creation of the Daleks, or to at least make them less aggressive, the Doctor ends up on their home planet, Skaro, just as the very first Dalek is being tested. We’re introduced to the creator of the Daleks, Davros. He’d go on to appear in many subsequent stories, but was never more intimidating and cunning than in his debut appearance. Davros and his subservients bring home the Nazi parallel that the Daleks had always portrayed in a more obvious way than ever-before. The Daleks' predecessors, the humanoid Kaleds, are locked into an endless war with the Thals. In his unhinged efforts to end the war, Davros created the Daleks, and what we see in this story is just how they came to take over.

This is a story that never gets old for me, and one I can’t believe was made on a 1970s Who budget. It truly is a blockbuster spectacle, made even better by stellar performances from the cast, specifically Michael Wisher as Davros. Just four stories into his run, Tom Baker gives a stellar performance here, particularly in a scene where he has the chance to destroy the Daleks, but just can’t bring himself to do it.

Terror of the Zygons

The Zygons are perhaps one of the most fondly remembered and well-executed monsters from the entirety of classic Doctor Who, and yet they only appeared once, in 1975’s “Terror of the Zygons.” Perhaps it was the briefness of their stint that made them so appealing, but I’d also wager that it's just a darn good story!

The titular Zygons are shapeshifters, who put that talent to good use here, impersonating a vast amount of the cast. There’s a wonderful Scottish vibe to this story, set near Loch Ness, which plays into another element of the story, the Zygon’s pet monster, the Skarasen. Their cunning abilities, matched with the creepy vibe of the story and truly excellent costumes makes “Terror of the Zygons” one of my favorite Fourth Doctor stories.

While they only made one appearance in classic Doctor Who, the Zygons finally made a comeback in the 50th anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor.” Following that, they also appeared in a two-part story during the Peter Capadli era. This story also marked the last major appearance of UNIT, who had been a staple during the Third Doctor’s era.

The Robots of Death

“The Robots of Death” holds a special place in my heart, as it's the first Fourth Doctor story I ever saw way back in 2005. For an era as long and generally well-received as this, it’s truly hard to pick five great stories. There are many that could easily slide in here, so I’m including “The Robots of Death” partly for its personal connection.

Summed up most simply, this story is an Agatha Christie “whodunit” set in space. The Doctor and his new companion Leela (Louise Jameson) arrive aboard a sandminer, where one by one, the crew is picked off. Of course, given the title of the serial, we know the robots did it. The drama here instead lies with the why, and more so, which of the humans aboard is truly behind it all. The cast of characters all seemingly have their motives, and most are quite memorable too.

The robots themselves have a truly iconic look to them, with a heavy art deco inspiration. The script really is quite wonderful, full of plenty of great moments, including one of my all-time favorite Tom Baker disses – “You know, you're a classic example of the inverse ratio between the size of the mouth and the size of the brain.”

City of Death

The latter half of Tom Baker’s 7 year-run as the Doctor typically isn’t looked at as fondly as his early years, but one true standout from his penultimate season is “City of Death.” While the original story was written by David Fisher, it was heavily re-written by the legendary Douglas Adams of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame. In fact, during this particular season, Adams served as Doctor Who’s script editor. While perhaps too much humor worked its way into some serials, here, a perfect balance is struck.

“City of Death” was the first time the show had done overseas filming, with scenes taking place around Paris, adding a very different feel to the show. Longtime composer Dudley Simpson put in some of his finest work here, creating a truly memorable piece that plays while the Doctor and companion Romana (Lalla Ward) make their way through Paris. Location filming aside, the script is also an excellent one, involving an alien who is the last of his species, trying to travel back in time to save his race. Said alien is portrayed by Julian Glover, who has appeared in practically every franchise imaginable, from Star Wars to Indiana Jones, and from James Bond to Game of Thrones. He brings a subdued and suave performance that truly makes for a memorable one-off villain.

Tom Baker is in fine form in this serial, and perhaps at his wittiest. But it's all a ruse, to make his opponents underestimate him, something that he and Second Doctor Patrick Troughton perfected, and has become an integral part of the character. Another shoutout has to go to Tom Chadbon as Duggan, one of the show’s best one-off sidekicks of all time.

Classic episodes of Doctor Who from 1963-1989 are available to stream on BritBox, while the modern series is on HBO Max. Beginning later this year, all new episodes of Doctor Who will be available on Disney+.